Hunter
by ella0minnow0pea
Summary: Amanda Post was quite normal... until a vampire killed her parents. Eight years later, she travels the country hunting vampires. What happens when she's sent to get the 7 vampire clan in Forks? BxE post NM pre EC review please! FINISHED
1. Gloves and Battery Chargers

The Hunter

Summary: Amanda Post lead a normal life... until vampires killed her parents. Now she's a hunter, armed with a mysterious weapon, and when she hears about a seven vampire clan in Forks, what will happen? More importantly, who sent her on this mission? Someone knows the Cullen's secret. BxE, set post- NM, pre-Eclipse

Disclaimer: I only own Amanda! Stephenie owns the rest. And the Cullens are in the story, we just haven't met them yet.

Amanda Post was not really a brave person. She cringed when she saw spiders and was deathly afraid of the dark. There was, of course, a reason for this. Eight years ago, Amanda was ten years old. She was taking a shopping trip with her parents at Christmastime. She quite clearly remembers that she had bought her mother a new pair of brown gloves, and her painfully practical father a battery charger, which is what he had asked for. That and closet hangers. Anyways, she and her parents had been admiring the beach from the boardwalk of their oceanside town. It was not the most attractive ocean, as they lived in Oregon, and it was wet, grey, and rather dismal most of the time. Yet, there was still an attractive quality to the churning unsettled nature of the waves as they rose, gathering volume as they came closer to the shore, but collapsing in on themselves as the weight became too much to bear. The clouds had parted, it seems, just for that night- you could pick out even the most difficult constellations among the stellae. Amanda especially remembered that she had pointed out Cassiopeia- her mother's favorite.

There wasn't much about the night that seemed really remarkable- in fact one of the only memorable things about it was the fact that it was the last happy moment in her life. Eating gratuitous amounts of ice cream straight from the Ben and Jerry's carton, they were headed back t car so that they could drive home. That's when Amanda first saw... it. Prowling the shore, so it seemed, was a dark haired young man with pale skin that reflected the moonlight with brilliance. Her parents immediately stiffened. The scene that followed was at once unbearably long and painfully quick- in that period, Amanda's life changed forever.

Her mother and father exchanged a dark look- a brief nod passed and her father went sprinting for the car, sweeping her into his arms and sprinting from the area. Her mother had withdrawn a large ivory colored knife- and proceeded to battle the unexpected threat. But he was quick, his movements simply blurs. But Valerie Post wasn't going to give up easily. She dug her weapon deep into his side, hacking out chunks of pale skin, and there was no bleeding. But then- the monster realized what had happened. He was not used to physical pain- you could see that. He struck out with more force- he hadn't had much faith in his opponent until now. Amanda was thrust into the old green Sedan, while her father ran to help his wife. Alan Post, as was insinuated, was a sprinter. He had been a star athlete in college, and he still retained much of his strength. He made it to the beachside brawl in incredible time, fueled by love and adrenaline- he dug a similar knife from his pocket, joining the fight. He sliced off numerous limbs in quick succession, all of which still writhed on the ground, but was still unable to reach his wife, fighting on the opposite side and having sustained a chest injury. Amanda's brain was simultaneously at a standstill and racing with ideas and theories. Her parents had suddenly become gruesome killers of a sub-human creature- and were now being killed themselves.

Valerie slumped to the ground as the creature wheeled on her, bringing her neck closer to his waiting mouth. She was bitte--- Amanda realized the truth of the situation. The thing was a vampire. And her parents had known that. Suddenly, the girl that was ten years old could take the situation no longer. She jumped out of the car, and ran towards the fight. She came upon the body of her mother, blood spattered and gnawed at the neck. Her father saw her figure behind him, and with his last action slashed off the creatures head. It lay, gasping on the ground.

The ghost of what might have been a smile fluttered across Alan's features, and he sank to the ground, clutching his chest. She knelt beside him, feeling the ess of blood and aromatic fluid of the vampire pool on the ground until it became deep enough to float a toy boat, if only for a second before it leveled out and started sinking into the ground. Amanda, in shock at how tremendously the world had shifted, the boundaries of normal and possible shifting and jumping to unimaginable distances. She touched a delicate finger to his forehead, and in response his eyes flipped open for one last time. He coughed- blood spraying. It got all over Amanda- she was past caring. He spoke- his last words of which the tone, inflection, and order would never be shaken in her mind's eye. Every aspect of the grisly day would be perfectly preserved in her thoughts. "Burn... pieces. Knife...you'll need it." with a last burst of energy, he gripped the knife from off the ground, pressing it from his cold dying hands into hers. "I wish- I told her... You should know..." But he wasn't able to finish his sentence. It was at that moment that his hand went slack in hers. She emotionlessly used the knife to cut the pieces of vampire into pieces, gathering them up and making a huge bonfire on the beach. An old lady would see it from her condo- phone the police. It was thought to be dog mauling- the ashes of the vampire had long since been scattered to the wind. Amanda was reported as missing. Missing, because she hadn't reported to the police, or anybody. After the fire had been made, she had turned away for home. Ten miles in the snow, clutching her shopping bags. Gloves for mom. A battery charger for dad.


	2. Job Satisfaction

**Chapter two: Job Satisfaction**

**a/n Yes, I know how infuriating it is to read a Twilight fanfic without the Cullens in it, but they're coming soon! And if you read it, review it! It's my first fanfic- I need all of the reviews I can get!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Cullens, Swans, Blacks... et cetera. Only the OCs.**

When Amanda Post walked home that bleary December evening, she was still in utter shock of the nightmare that had just taken place on the beach. Zombielike, she mindlessly fumbled for the key in her pocket and stuck it clumsily into the lock of the door, turning it and walking inside. Without the familiar sounds of her parents, or the computer and microwave, the house already seemed dead, abandoned unexpectedly- it's occupants having left without warning or even packing. Indeed, it almost didn't feel like her house at all. Later in life she would label this unfamiliarity as "Jemais Vu", the complete opposite of deja vu, meaning that she had come to a vastly familiar place, and been confronted with the feeling of never having been there before. It was odd- Amanda started packing her belongings, clothes before she even realized that she was leaving. An accomplished hacker, although this her parents did not know, Amanda had one day taken the liberty of creating a new identity online, complete with a social security number and birth certificate. The government's records showed this identity, Mandy Procter, as being twelve years old, whose parents were Stevan (deceased) and Margeret. Both were completely fictional, and the family had never had any money, a house, or anything- until now. Using her technical prowess, Amanda was able to divert all of her parents life savings into a new account before the police had reported the Post's as dead, one controlled exclusively by Mandy Procter. The sum total: six hundred thousand dollars, not to mention the money that would be had from selling the house, auctioning off various personal items belonging to the family. Amanda wondered at where her parents had gotten so much money- but then again, she hadn't known about her parent's secret life. Amanda turned over the two knives in her hand that she had completely forgotten she was holding. Bloodstained and filthy, they didn't look like any ivory or bone Amanda had ever seen, and yet they were vastly different than any stone, metal or wood. Had her parents been vampire hunters their whole lives, and the money that they had came from providing this public service? If so, how many people actually knew about vampires? Amanda decided that she had to do some more digging. After several business calls to acquaintances around the area, people who wouldn't hear about the death for some time, Amanda made arrangements. She was going to start a new life- erase the old Amanda, and for the time, Mandy Procter was her new name.

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A few moving trucks, taxicabs and realtors later, the house, and it's belongings, were auctioned off by a close family friend and executor of the will, a Mrs. Margaret Procter. The will showed that all of the Post's worldly possessions were to be given to the Procter family. At a house in New Hampshire, residence of the Procter family, the delivery of the items was signed off by Mandy, their twelve year old daughter, because her mother was not home at the moment, sorry. After E-bay, the amount in the Mandy Procter "college fund" had grown to over a million dollars. Amanda Post was presumed dead after attempts to locate her failed miserably. Mandy Procter in New Hampshire, coincidentally, enrolled in her new school district on the exact date the search for the missing Oregon girl stopped. A death certificate was drawn up, and Mandy Procter started her new life.

If the secretary at the front office of H Brown Elementary was surprised to see the small ten year old girl filling out her paperwork for school, she didn't say anything. The girl had run out to collect the signature from her mother, who was ailing and could not leave the car to come to the office. In reality, Mandy was signing all of the documents herself, her imagined mother not being real. But she must not let anyone know that, she said to herself. So she played a part. She walked into class that day with the perfect expression of shyness and trepidation at joining a new class, but she warmed up quickly to inquiries about where she was from. The teacher was impressed at how she handled the situation- according to her files, this was the first time that she had moved. But yet, here she was. She was every girls best friend, and by the end of the month, several of the girls were confident enough in their friendship to share secret fears, fears like, I always see a man with red eyes hanging around downtown- he's pretty hot- well of course he had contacts on. Or something along the lines of Did you hear about the girls that went missing around Marshall street? People are beginning to suspect someone like the Green River Killer... And Mandy would drink it in, readying herself for combat.

Mandy had signed up for Tae Kwon Do classes, as well as Martial Arts and Karate. And Swordfighting. And well, any other combat training you can think of. She was going to go all the way. The instructor had been unwilling to take on such a young student- they were adult classes she was joining- but a little extra money had assured her the finest education possible in the art of incapacitating your enemies. She proved a determined student- she wasn't ever "eager", as you could say, to learn any of the new moves, but she worked with a fierce determination unrivaled by any of her classmates. Within a year she was able to track down her opponent, chop off his head and roast his body in a bonfire. The actual mode of attack had scared her, initially. She was to go downtown, play dumb, hang in skeezy areas where she could easily be located by a vampire. She didn't know too much about vampires, about stakes, or silver bullets, but she knew of two things that worked: her knives, and fire. She also didn't know all that much about identifying vampires. She made the assumption that they never came out in the daytime, but had abandoned the thought of fangs, having seen none on the head of her parent's killer. She remembered quite plainly, however, the smell of the clear liquid that had pooled around her feet, mingling with the blood on the ground. It was heavenly, but in association with vampires, it was only hated. Nevertheless, Mandy believed that if she got close enough to the monster to smell, she would be able to distinguish human from vampire. She began to stake out spots downtown at night, after her training was over for the day.

The first night she had tried, she had gotten nothing. The second, she had to incapacitate a kidnapper. The third night, however, was the charm. With a winning smile and a shock of golden curls, a living Apollo, he led her down the alleyway, making smalltalk. He had made a natural assumption- little girl in the city, clutching a purse, holding back tears, she needed help finding her parents. Not that he was going to do anything of the sort. There was a river, he thought, that had just the spot for dumping a massacred body. "Are you looking for your mom or dad? I think I saw someone- calling your name. Mandy, is it?" He'd read the name off of her blazer. She smiled, a seraphic grin that lit up her face and seemed to make the whole world glow a little brighter. "No thanks," she said, staring straight into his hungry burgendy eyes. "I know exactly where they are." At this point, Mandy swept the two knives out of her purse, chopping off both of his arms in one smooth motion. He made an attempt to fight back, but his head was off and body sliced and diced before he had the chance to make a single move. Pouring a small bottle that was supposed to be mace but filled with gasoline onto the writhing remains of the monster, Mandy lit a match, and dropped it to the ground. She walked calmly away, never turning back to look once. That was Number One, she told herself. Goodness knows how many more to go.


	3. Business Partners

**Chapter Three: Business Partners**

_A/N The Cullens are coming! If you don't see them next chapter, I give you permission to flame._

_Disclaimer: I own no characters or settings. _

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Amanda Post, who was once Mandy Proctor and then again Mindy Stevens... had had many identities.

In Oregon, She had been Amanda, as you know.

New Hampshire: Mandy Procter.

Delaware: Mindy Stevens

Canada: Amy Pritchardson

Chicago: Amelia Wainwright

Wisconsin: Delia Johnston

Michigan: April Hall

California: Sarah McCune

Mexico: Leah Prengel

France: Marie Pascal

Iowa: Jamie Peters

NewYork: Susan Hash

Arkansas: Emma Parks

New York again: Katie Brownley

Ohio: Olivia Granger

Florida: Emily Green

Pennsylvania: Abby Lee

Illinois: Emma Smith

Maryland: Jade Sterling

Sixteen names for sixteen vampires killed. She had decided long ago that she didn't want t o make it easy for any vampires to track her whereabouts. She originally stuck to names vaguely similar to those she had previously used in the beginning, to help her get used to being called by a different name, but she had decided that it was safer to use completely different names each time. And she was getting better at putting on different identities- at the flip of a coin she could be emo, goth, preppy or a loner. It all depended on who she was with. Before relocating, Amanda would spend hours- days, even- combing the Internet for knowledge about her new school, community. Through MySpace, Facebook, various blogs... She found out how to cater to the wishes of the town. But of course, she had to find out where a vampire was before she could know where to look for one. This is where Thomas Mapple came in.

Amanda had met Thomas during her brief stay in Chicago while under the name of Amelia Wainwright. She was in an Internet cafe, and was prowling through her neighbors files to see if anyone knew anything about vampires. She had... disposed of the vamp in Chicago, and was searching for info on where to find the next. Her work was going pretty slowly at the moment. It had been four years since she had started her quest to rid the world of bloodsucking scum, and in that time she had only tracked down and hunted four vamps. Things weren't going so hot. She knew that there had to be more out there- she could feel it, and if only she could- her train of thought stopped, hard, it's brakes screeching against the tracks, making sparks. A file had come up. It was a list of vampires and their locations, complete with physical descriptions of each vamp. It ran nearly ten pages, but most of the entries were listed as outdated. In fact, only about nine of them were listed as current. But it was a gold mine. Nonchalantly, Amelia Wainwright walked over to the young man who had the file up. He started a bit at her appearance but was disarmed by her charming smile, which she had been practicing. She started up casual conversation with him, and then began introducing more and more references to vampires until he started to sweat. It was obviously on purpose- no one mentions vampires that much when discussing the windy weather of Chicago. But one couldn't be too sure. To be safe, the rest of the conversation passed wordlessly.

His eyes said: What do you want? Her eyebrow raised in a way that insinuated: Don't tell me you can't guess. His eyes darted away, back. He leaned back in his chair a bit, a gesture which, at the time, looked like "Should we really be talking about this here?" She shook her head almost imperceptibly, and jerked it a bit to the side, indicating that they should take their discussion elsewhere. Ten minutes later, she was examining his loft. It was nowhere near her standard- she was living in a penthouse at the moment. He explained that after seeing a brutal vampire attack while visiting relatives in Boston, he had been on the lookout for vampires and was making a list compiled from reports around the world of spottings. He was extremely paranoid, Amelia noted. He kept looking around as if expecting vamps to start swarming around, ready to attack. She sighed and took out her knives. "Stop freaking out. I'm a professional vampire hunter. It's fine." He had stared in horror and awe for a couple seconds, and then spluttered out a confused garbled message along the lines of "Wha-knife! Really? Vamps! Why- how- stake? Is it..."

She clapped an impatient hand over his mouth. "Shut up! To answer some of the most obvious questions, I found out that my parents were vampire hunters after I saw them murdered in Oregon. My real name is Amanda, not Amelia like I said. I have been doing this job for four years now. I live by myself. I don't have any idea why the knives seem to be the only things that kill vampires, but they are." Amanda had tried other things. She once killed a vampire, burned it's head, arms, and legs, and tried to stake it in the chest, or shoot it with a silver bullet... She even sprinkled garlic and holy water: nothing. And the sun lamp she had tried as an afterthought had made it sparkle, but nothing else. Sheepishly, Thomas dug out a wooden stake, phial of holy water and cloves of garlic from his bag. "I guess this is useless then." Amanda smiled. "Unless you want a wet smelly vampire covered in splinters." She paused. "What were you planning on doing with that list? It looks as though you're still in high school, and your parents are still both living, (she had deduced as much from the male and female peacoats hanging in the closet) so it's not like you can go on a killing spree." He sheepishly told her that he was just keeping it as a reference so that he would be able to know how to avoid them.

Amanda smiled. "Too bad there's the one who's been skulking round the airport, who's been preying on tourists." He made a frightened note to his list. But she just laughed. "Don't worry. I got her last week." He looked up at her with a mix of anger and relief. "You shouldn't scare people like that!" A knock at the door startled them both- Amanda quickly stashed her knives, and grabbed Thomas' shoulders, wheeling him to face her. "I'm your girlfriend- we're studying. We're in Algebra together." He looked confused, but pulled out his algebra books. It had been a lucky guess that he was in algebra, but not unlikely, given how nerdy he seemed. But not in a bad way, she thought. He had pretty blue eyes, despite how often they looked wide and fearful. And his short curly black hair could be called adorable, even if she would never admit it.

When Louis and Virginia Mapple walked in the door, they were met with a very strange sight. It appeared that their son had a friend over- a girl no less! She was pretty too, with her shoulder length light brown hair and big brow eyes. There were the standard introductions, and Thomas found himself frightened by the calm, collected way that Amanda was handling things. She introduced herself as Amelia Wainwright, and he almost found himself believing her stories about different classes they had together, and he was scared. She seemed inhuman in her smooth assessment and reaction to the situation. She was a new person that was completely different that the intense vampire hunter of a few seconds ago. He was shaking. However, this went unnoticed as Thomas was generally shaking. His parents were completely charmed by the pretty, intelligent and wholesome girl who was with their son. They immediately trusted her, disarmed by her infectious laughter and easy smile. She pretended to call her parents and ask if it was all right for her to stay for dinner, and unsurprisingly, was given permission. They had spaghetti, and later in the evening, Amanda was able to surreptitiously convey via notes and encoded conversation that they ought to go into business together and rid the world of vampires, profits to be split fifty-fifty. He nodded, afraid to say anything else. She really was something else, he thought dizzily.

And the partnership continued. It was wildly successful. In the three years since that first meeting, she had killed fourteen vampires. Thomas got over his fear of girls, and most specifically Amanda, but never got over his awe at her mad fighting skills and ability to insinuate herself into everyone's affections. It was three years after that meeting that he e-mailed Jade Sterling in Maryland to give her her next assignment- He wasn't too sure whether to tell her, there were seven of them, but after a moment's hesitation, sent the message. He leaned back in his chair. How could a small town like Forks, Washington have so many vampires?

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A/N: Yay! This chapter was a bit hard to write- I didn't know how to make Tom seem pathetic enough! He is seriously freaked out by Amanda. 


	4. Visions and Visiting Hours

Chapter four:

A/N: This is what we've all been waiting for...Alice's prophecy! And by the way, thanks for all the reviews! It's shocking! It's astounding! They get me in the mood to write! And MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Disclaimer: Of course I'm not Meyer! That's ridiculous! Preposterous!

It was simply another overcast day in the perpetually wet town of Forks, Washington. There didn't seem to be anything particularly unusual about this day, unless you count the fact that the Cullen family was back in town. Bella Swan had become zombielike and depressed, wandering around like one of the undead, or so her friends and classmates observed. What they didn't fully grasp was that it wasn't Bella that was undead, it was her vampire boyfriend who'd recently left town, along with the rest of his family, to keep Bella safe from their extremely unsafe company. And when they'd come back suddenly, it was said to be because Esme hadn't been fond of LA, not that Bella had saved Edward from vampire royalty in Italy. But Bella was back to normal again, and things were getting better. In a few months,_(forgive me if the timing is kind of off)_ school would be over- Bella and her class would all graduate, and Bella would go to Alaska for a nice year of quality time with Edward, learning to control her bloodlust. In the meantime, relations between the pack of native American werewolves and the group of vegetarian vampires had gotten tense. And getting tenser. So no, there was nothing unusual going on in Forks. Not until 12:38, the exact moment of Alice Cullen's vision at Forks High School.

At 12:38, Alice Cullen saw something. Or, more accurately, someone. Human- that she could tell. But other things were fairly vague, such as the appearance of the stranger and when exactly they would be coming. It could be now, could be years from now. But then Alice saw something else. It was fairly blurry- This could be attributed to many things. Humans were harder to see- Alice was more in tune with those of her own kind- and something wasn't completely decided upon. Visions, especially hers, were subject to change. But wait- a knife- and fire- hacked limbs, still writhing... An eighteen year old girl, honey-brown hair...In a flash of neurons and a moment of decisiveness over in Maryland, Alice had her epiphany...And Edward saw, of course. That's what happens when you can read minds. This all took the space of a few seconds, and Bella tried gently shaking her to get her out of her dreamy state- it wasn't just vampires who sat at their lunch table. Angela and Ben were not oblivious to the world, and Angela less than anyone thought. (Not to imply anything, of course...)

Edward laughed, a quick cover up of the situation that would be utilized early on in Eclipse. "Tired, Alice? Don't go doing off just yet." Everyone else laughed along. It was hard to escape the Cullen's charm. But now Bella was intrigued and worried. Edward had, of course, seen her vision. His mind reading talents enabled him to hear the minds of everyone in a few miles- thankfully, this did not extend towards Bella. "What is it?" Bella hissed into his ear during a particularly noisy period in th conversation. He gave her a look that clearly said- We'll talk about it later. Bella's stomach twisted into a little know of worry. The Cullens had always told her not to worry about them- and she knew that it was ridiculous to fear for the safety of seven vampires who could take care of themselves well enough. But it was hard for her not to worry, as Edwards eyes had been blacker since the day of her disastrous eighteenth birthday.

In science, Bella tried in futility to convince Edward to tell her what the prophecy was about. Edward, for that matter, was taking attentive notes on the video, for all the world a model student. Bella snorted, inaudibly except to vampire ears. She knew very well that there was nothing in any of the textbooks at school that he didn't already know. He'd been through medical school twice, for goodness sakes. He was not getting anything at all out of this- it was a video on the systems of the heart. He could probably do open heart surgery in his sleep. Except of course, vampires don't sleep, and he looked to young to be a heart surgeon. And he always would.

Bella sighed, her attention having been drawn to the subject of Edward's refusal to turn her into a vampire, unless she agreed to his conditions. Marriage. Ugh. It's not as if Bella had anything against marriage, especially not to Edward, but the idea of telling Renee and Charlie so soon... She'd never wanted to be that girl, the girl who got married right after high school. It looked vaguely... slutty. And Renee wouldn't approve, and neither would Charlie. She would look just like some lovesick twit who irresponsibly got hitched directly after school, and a month later, gets killed. In her opinion, it was better to go to college for a while, get turned into a vampire and "die", and then get married. That way, everyone's happy. Well, Renee and Charlie (Phil?) would be sad for a long time...A lump rose in Bella's throat. She didn't like considering the pain she would cause others when she- she refused to think about it. She absolutely couldn't start crying during science. She distracted herself by turning her attention back to the problem at hand. Oh, yes. The vision. Bella returned to fuming.

Charlie had kept Bella on a tight leash since Edward's return, but he couldn't deny her a ride home every afternoon. As the Cullen siblings piled into the Volvo, Bella knew that this might be her only chance to find out what was going on. "What was it?" She asked again. Alice and Edward shared a dark look. "We're going to have a visitor." He said icily. Bella hated his lack of specification. "Like Victoria? The Volturi?" He shook his head. Rosalie must have been doing some telepathic communication with Edward, because she incredulously burst out "It's a human girl?" Now everyone in the car was confused, except for Alice and Edward, who only looked mildly puzzled. "Yes... still in high school, and she seems to be planning on ridding the town of Forks from its vampire problem." Bella didn't think that this made any sense. "But... She's human. How can she kill a vampire? She's not a werewolf or anything." Edward shook his head. "She has some kind of weapon- a knife..." He looked frustrated. And he was. Alice hadn't been able to pick out exactly what was going on, and she didn't know why. An uncomfortable thought occurred to her. What if werewolves were involved? That would make everything more difficult. Edwards head inclined a degree downward, and the crease in his forehead grew a little deeper. "We have to talk to Carlisle."

Bella, to her dismay, was dropped off at her own house. "We can't have Charlie put a stake through Edward's heart, now can we?" Alice chirped. "Don't worry- we'll fill you in later." Bella pouted. She didn't like her new "visiting hours" that Charlie had set. She smirked a little though, when she thought of the visiting hours Charlie couldn't control, and didn't even know about. Every night as Edward said his goodbyes, he would simply slip around the back of the house and climb up into her bedroom window. But... that wasn't for another six hours or so. Bella frowned and started on her homework, counting down the minutes.

After the visiting hours were complete, Bella was so anxious to hear what was going on that her "Human minute" lasted about forty-five seconds- including a shower. When she reached her bedroom, Edward was sitting on her bed with a smile on his face that didn't quite touch the eyes. "Impatient, are we?" She simply made a gesture indicating that he should just spit it out already. He sighed. "Rosalie, Emmmet, and Jasper are of the opinion that we should pack up and start over. Carlisle, Esme, Alice and I think that she would simply track us down and go from there." Bella was torn. On one hand, she didn't want the Cullens to get hurt. On the other hand, she didn't want Edward to leave again. This hand was much stronger, and she eventually ruled that they should stay. "Maybe," she said with a small smile. "We can make a treaty. It should be easy- she isn't a werewolf who's born with a hatred of vampires." Edward frowned. "I'm not sure it'll be like that. We have no idea how reasonable she's going to be." They both spent the rest of the night worrying silently. In the meantime, Jade Sterling packed her bags, switching the tags on the luggage to read "Anna Gregorson"

A/N: Merry Christmas to all, and to all please review! (Thanks to the people that already have!)


	5. Moving Vans and Airplane Rides

Chapter five: Moving Vans and Airplane Rides

A/N: Yay! It's another chapter from the marvelous ella0minnow0pea! And you know how you can see any more chapters? You got it! Alerts and Reviews! They're fairly wonderful! And so is Bena for that matter. She fixed the stupid laptop!

Disclaimer: If you have your wits about you, you would realize that I am not a thirty-ish year old mother of three living in Phoenix (Where does she really live?) who writes addictive vampire stories. I can't say that I wish I was either. I like Washington much better than the hot arid Arizona.

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Anna Gregorson, Whose "real" name was Amanda, but most recently Jade, was packing the contents of her small suburban home into a moving truck. She'd barely done anything to the house- indeed, it looked like she had never been there. Hefting a box of kitchenware out to the van, Anna contemplated why on earth she had accepted such a dangerous job.

There were seven of them!

Even if she was fighting ordinary humans, this would have been a daunting task. And she only had two knives. She thought about the flamethrower she would ave to construct. A modified blowtorch would do. But it would need a wide range. A WIDE range. And quite a lot of gasoline. She thought about what Tom would do if he could hear her thoughts. Probably cover his ears and run away in fear. He was an extra-ordinarily frightened sort of guy. It was really difficult to imagine him in the vampire hunting profession, and yet, there he was. It was remarkable. But back to the task at hand. A modified blowtorch, a bulletproof vest, (not like she thought it would do much good.) the knives, perhaps a harpoon gun? If she put one of the knives in, she could hit one of the more powerful looking ones from a relatively safe distance, she could take out the others more easily. Her head swam with vampire killing strategies for the next hour or so. The topic of why she had decided to go on this mission would be forgotten for quite some time.

When the remnants of a past life were packed away, her alter ego said to be presumed dead after a kidnapping... She smiled. She decreased the number of vampires, but due to all of her identities dying in various ways after they were no longer needed, she hadn't done much for the death toll in any area. The last box, the one containing all of her weaponry (except the two knives, which she kept on her person at all times) she shut in her old Honda Civic, (dingy beige) which she hated. In this town, Jade was a bit of a punk, (meaning totally goth/emo) and had to scrounge for the cash herself to buy th car since her parents didn't think she was responsible enough.

Waiting for her in Washington however, was her new vehicle of choice: it was a slightly battered metallic teal VW bug in a dark teal hue with New York plates. It was a great car. She'd seen aerial pictures of the parking lot of the local high school, and none of the cars had been a particular standout in either crappiness or expense- there was a beat up old red truck and slick silver '05 Volvo that didn't particularly fit the mold, but other than that her car looked just fine. It was more expensive than it looked- bugs would never go out of style, and that was one of the things that really drew her to it- that and the custom interior job- someone had bothered to reupholster the seats, as well as install a satellite radio. But for now... The Civic would do. She had taken great care to have Jade Sterling give it to her friend Anna Gregorson before Jade died, and Anna set up an e-bay account and sold it. The buyer was local, but wouldn't know her. Or recognize her, due to the fact that Jade had purple spiked hair and an attitude problem, as well as a wardrobe completely made from Hot Topic. Anna had honey-brown hair that went a little past her shoulders- she wore it straight, but it was still slightly wavy. But not curly. It was a good look, one that radiated "good girl" to the extreme. She would retool it as needed when she got to Forks.

Things were looking good. On the drive to the airport, she noticed for the first time in years the lack of feeling she had toward Maryland, or any of the other places that had been home. She had great friends, always lived in financial security, _(due to mysterious bundles of cash that would mysteriously appear on her doorstep, or lodged in a mailbox. She had the feeling that the world was not as oblivious to vampires as it first seemed. Often the package would contain a small note of thanks for her "services" and one time there was a plate of cookies for her troubles.)_But somehow, Amanda was able to leave all of this behind without any degree of sentimentality. She thought about the possibility that she had a heart of stone, and to reassure herself that this wasn't true, she called up her one and only best friend Thomas Mapple. He was always very quick to answer her calls. "Hello?" "Hi Tom!" she said cheerfully, thinking about how nice it was that she had someone to talk to. Most of her classmates assumed she was dead. "What is it?" He said anxiously. Anna, now not Amanda, rolled her eyes. He always assumed the worst. "I'm driving to the airport. Honestly- the Maryland Massacre is over. You can stop worrying. Once I cross into Western Washington, then you can start worrying." He exhaled loudly. "You had me worried. I mean, your calls are generally describing various scenes of bloodshed and terror..." he shivered, so audibly that it was picked up over the phone and its volume increased. She heard the shiver, and it never ceased to astound her that he could get so worked up over a phone call. "Really- you'd think I told you that I had a vampire trussed up in back of the car, and I was driving it over to you. You need to seriously calm down."

He seemed to realize that it was a purely social call, which puzzled him. He was never quite sure exactly where he stood with Amanda. Her ever-shifting personality made it so that he was completely unable to read any kind of signs indicating either "I barely know you- we just do business together" or "We're best buds". It provided no end of questioning worry in the long nights in Chicago, where he still lived despite moving out of his parents house after graduation. He went to school there, training to be a website designer. He was already getting clients. He was 19. His parents always wondered when he would settle down with a nice girl, and always wondered what had happened to that nice Amelia Wainwright. She had been dating their little Tommy for a while, but she moved after just a month. She was a real charmer. But Tommy was currently on the phone, and this was a bit of a tangent explaining the situation with his life, despite it being a needed thing.

"So... You're really going." He couldn't fathom how motivated she was, to go up against seven v- v-vampires. He was too much of a wimp to even think the name without stuttering. "Yep." She said firmly. He could almost hear her chin jutting forward with determination. Tom winced. "Stay safe- please?" He was a little desperate. She really was one of his only friends. He was a bit scared of people most of the time. Thankfully, his business mostly involved internet transactions, and there was as little real communication as possible. But he couldn't avoid the occasional call from Amanda- not as if he wanted to, but they always sent his blood pressure soaring. He got very nervous for fear of the news she would bring. They continued conversation for a while, but she got increasingly tired of his timid nature, and he had to take an aspirin. After he hung up, he clutched the bottle shakily. One of the scariest things about Amanda, he thought, was that he wasn't sure if she had any emotions of her own. She didn't ever look like she demonstrated any real sadness or happiness, unless it was a part she was playing. Was she ever not playing a part? Did she have a personality? It was bad enough knowing there were vampires in the world- was Amanda even human? It was eerie the way she just shrugged off identities- they were real, vivid people with lives and histories... and then they were gone. Thomas Mapple took another aspirin.

Amanda pulled into the parking lot, and met the red haired fellow who would be buying her car. She was handed two thousand dollars, which she tucked into a secret compartment of her purse, and she took her carry on to the line where metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs reigned supreme. The airport security always worried her. She always worried that someone would discover the knives in her carry on bag, and had devised a solution. She would place a thick, leather covered book (with one of those straps that keeps the book from opening) and hollowed a section out of the middle, filled it partially with memory foam, and pressed the knives inside. She hated desecrating the book like that, but if that was the only way to catch vampires... She sighed, placing the bag onto the conveyor belt, crossing her fingers. Nothing showed up on the x-ray, and in any case the guard didn't even take much more than a cursory glance at the screen. That's because he was near the end of his shift. Amanda always timed her departures so that no one would notice the odd knife or two in a carry on bag. That's one of the benefits of being a master hacker. The world is your oyster. She allowed herself a small sigh of relief as soon as she was twenty feet away. You do not want to sigh near a guard. They start thinking that you're hiding somthing. And they would have been exactly right.

Once on the plane, Anna pulled her BOSE headphones over her head and started listening to some good ol' Keane. (Only Under the Iron Sea, it was their best album.) She pulled out one of her numerous carry on books- apart from the one containing knives- and started to read. It was Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, a genius of satire and comedy, in Anna's opinion. She was at the part where Vimes gives Dibbler his own catchphrase- "That's cutting me own throat!" She chuckled to herself. She was always the most herself while between identities, even if she didn't realize it. She would read, eat strips of dried mango, and listen to her iPod on shuffle mode, enjoying how varied her musical tastes were. She could be listening to Muse, then the Beatles, and switch to Tally Hall or movie soundtracks in an instant. She tried to empty her head completely of the horror waiting for her- one couldn't accurately describe it as a bloodbath, but it was the best fitting word. But she couldn't think of that, not now. So she played the part of happy, responsible teenager. And then she suddenly wasn't herself anymore. She had put on one of her various hats. (It's a weird phrase, but it fits.)

After several hours in the sky, Anna's anxiousness increased. She had definitely lost her marbles. No one in their right mind would dare go against seven vampires, even with backup. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was simple revenge as far as her parents went. It really didn't matter. She was going. She couldn't wimp out now. She had to be brave. She practiced her breathing exercises for a half hour. Then the plane landed. The U-Haul truck wouldn't arrive for a couple days or so, but she would locate her car and drive to her new house and just have to deal without possessions for a while. Her first impression of Port Angeles: It was fairly tumble-down. And this was "the city"? How desperate is Forks? Upon closer examination, there were a few things to do, so she popped into a movie theater to watch some human interaction and really get into her part. She bought a large popcorn as well, munching as quietly as she could while examining the couples and other individuals around her. She soon got a feeling for what was an acceptable amount of noise to make, and how much PDA it took to be scandalous, also, how much was considered cute or sweet. How popular were these sort of outings? Were they best for a group, or a date? She observed quietly, taking almost no notice of the actual movie.

After the credits rolled, Anna Gregorson (Because that's her name now.) walked over to the car lot where her bug was waiting. She smiled. It had been worth the two-mile walk. (She was used to exercise, so it wasn't too bad.) She experimentally turned the key, and the engine hummed quietly, a pleasant sound. She noted with a small twinge of satisfaction the personal touch the previous owner had given the car. The seats were comfortable, and the chrystal thingy hanging in the mirror looked faintly whimsical and carefree. She had a good night out on the town, feeling, if just for the day, fancy-free. She drove to her new house, which was a fairly small place, just big enough to accommodate a family of three, but seeing as it was only for her, it was big enough for her needs.

As Anna unpacked her bags from the car, her iPod blared "Blood of a Prince" by Harry and the Potters. It fit her mood at that exact instant like a perfectly tailored glove. "We're bringing you down..." she hummed along to the chords, pausing in disbelief as another old favorite (that also matched) "Blue Side" came on. "Look at my bursting veins..." She continued walking, unloading a load of bath towels from the truck that had just barely arrived. She could have driven, but she liked getting to town a little bit earlier than her stuff. That way, she could get a feel for the atmosphere and see if any last minute changes needed to be made to make her persona more believable. But everything seemed all right in this sleepy little town. There really wasn't much going on. She shivered at the feelinng of familiarity she had felt when she first saw all of the plentiful Douglas Fir trees that were gratuitously scattered across the lush, forested land. It wasn't too different than Oregon. She felt guilty thinking about the possibility that she might like it here. Maybe she would stay a month or two after the deed was done. She would most likely need time to recuperate in any case- the showdown with the vamps would leave more than a few scratches, and she had heard that the town had an excellent doctor. It seemed about the only thing that the town had going for it. That and vampires.

She grimaced, a rare display of her true feelings. It wouldn't be easy. Not that any of her other conquests had, but they had been simple- once she had figured out a basic plan of action, that was all there was to it. Find and kill. "Build me up Buttercup" came on and she muffled a snigger. It was a love song, and she was just thinking about the mass killing she was about to do. It was a sharp contrast. She hurriedly skipped through several songs which all touched upon the same theme. She didn't like to interrupt her work, but she picked up the iPod and switched to her "Angst" playlist. Shakin' by Rooney came on. She smiled. Life was good again. Or was it Maroon 5 that did that song? She had to look. It was Rooney. But for the moment the whole process of moving boxes out of trucks and into houses was completely, irrevocably interrupted. She sighed, sitting on top of the piano bench that was sitting on the lawn. This was most likely a terrible idea, but the world needed seven less vampires. If she died in the process, mankind still would benefit. And that was important- carrying on her parents work. But it still frustrated her- why hadn't her parents ever told her? And how did they know where to go to do their work? What were those knives made of? She had Thomas Mapple for scouting vamps- who did her parents have? She sat like that for a while, just wishing for one more day with her parents, a day where she could bare her soul, hear about all of the things they had done, and for once, feel like herself again.

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A/N: Wow! Congrats to me on longest chapter ever! It nearly doubles the length of the story! I had fun writing this one. And as you can see, I was listening to my new Christmas iPod the whole time! Heck yes! (It has a red case.) So... How does everyone like the story so far? I need honest reviews, even if you just say- "I hate it. Amanda is a cold and Tom is a freaky sonuvamother- stop writing now." But please, if you couldn't swear that would be nice. And were the Cullens and Bella in character at all last chapter?? That was one of my biggest worries. And I'm surprised no one has asked about the knives. Do you already know? I want it to be a surprise. And wow, longest author note too. I guess I'm on a roll. But when school starts again, it'll be difficult to update. So please! Review! It keeps an author going! 


	6. Golden Eyes and Clutzy Girlfriends

Chapter Six: Golden eyes and clutzy girlfriends

A/N: Yay! More Cullen action! It's exciting!

Disclaimer: **I am not Stephenie Meyer. Do I really need to say this every chapter?**

The student body of Forks high school was in a bit of a frenzy. A new student was coming. In most schools, this was a fairly ordinary thing. But Forks was never really one for excitement. The most interesting things that happened, ever, at FHS were as follows.

Bella Swan moved to Forks.

Bella Swan started dating Edward Cullen.

The Cullen family moved, Bella became a zombie.

The Cullens moved back- Bella was happy again.

Every single one involved Bella. This one did too, but that wasn't known. But it did involve a girl, a fact which excited the sheep-like males immensely. It was sick, Edward observed. He could read minds, as you remember. The Cullen family had reached a consensus that they should stay and try to settle things without bloodshed (...so to speak. It would be venomshed in their case, but oh well...) And this is how the following scene came to be. Anna came to the school, and made all of the necessary introductions in her classes. Her personality was charming, her laughter infectious. Every single male (and many who weren't) were dying for the love of her by third period. Every girlfriend was instantly jealous, but decided that she wasn't a man-stealer, and settled for trying to be her new best friend. Edward noticed the change in everyone, and to his astonishment saw that even Jessica approved. He looked into Anna's thoughts, but found nothing horribly incriminating.

She had a habit of thinking like her characters- she found that it made it much easier to be Anna Gregorson if she thought like Anna Gregorson. But Edward noticed the hollow quality of the thoughts, which were sometimes just the things that she would say. It was like she carefully thought of each sentence before saying it. She could just be trying really hard to make a good first impression, but Edward wasn't sure. But nothing about vampires. He began to consider the possibility that maybe she didn't know about vampires yet. As a precaution, Edward craned his head closer to Bella, who was already leaning close against him. It was third period, and, like all of their classes, they sat together. Bella never ceased to be amazed at Edwards influence over the female faculty. Of course, it was hard not to be dazzled...

"What is it?" She whispered, the sound barely leaving her lips. Of course, supersonic vampire hearing would have no trouble.

"I just want you to make sure you don't say anything about...us to our visitor. We're still not sure how much she knows."

Bella paused. "You mean she might not know?"

He cocked his head to the side. "It's not quite clear. She hasn't said anything incriminating in her thoughts. We don't know exactly when Alice's vision was- it could be months from now."

Bella's brow furrowed, a habit she had borrowed from Edward. She'd thought that mind reading was infallible, and that the whole thing would be sorted out quickly. But it appeared that either she was clueless, she was a really good actor... in her thoughts as well? Bella sighed, the sound barely escaping her lips. What were they going to do?

The rest of Forks High School knew exactly what they were going to do. They were going to become either her best friend or her boyfriend. And that required a lot of sucking up.

"Wanna sit with us at lunch?" This came from a red haired boy with quite a lot of freckles.

She gave a non-commital "I don't know." But it was the most flattering I Don't Know anyone had ever gotten, seeing as it came from the most popular person in school.

"I love your shirt!" Jennifer Hodge enthused. "Where did you get it?"

Anna shrugged. "American Eagle? It might have been Aeropostale." Everyone oohed and aahed in their minds, not knowing that those stores were standard fare in most malls.

"What lunch do you have?" Katie Grisham seemed very excited. The group that seemed to be rapidly collecting around her table in French class was rapidly growing, and they all held their breath to see what she would answer.

"Second?" Anna replied.

"Great!" Katie almost shouted. Anna detected a few "Crap!"s in there, (due to some who were in first lunch) but noticed that many of her classmates brightened. But Madame McGregor seemed to notice that not all of her students were copying down their irregular verbs. She barked at them in French. "Arete!" But then it came time for the students to leave, and the swarm proceeded to the cafeteria. The fact that there was an admiring mob played into the fact that Anna didn't notice the Cullens for a moment. When the swarm crowded themselves onto the benches that were fixed onto the tables, she was able to get a good look at the population of Forks High School. There were about 150 students in there, but the number in the school was about three hundred something. It was a small room, (relatively) so the Cullen family noticed Anna immediately as she walked in. Anna was still fixed in her mindset, so Edward decided that she most likely didn't know about vampires yet. After a series of frantic instant mind messaging, the Cullen family was satisfied that they had nothing to fear quite yet.

When Anna took a glance around the room, her reaction was quite the opposite. She saw a group of five beautiful people, and one human. She was fairly sure of their being...what they were- they were angular in figure, had extremely pale skin, rings around their...eyes. They had golden eyes. Anna stewed about this for a moment, but decided that maybe their eyes were only red on the hunt, or at night, or whatever. It seemed that they could go out in the daytime too. Strange. She'd been so sure that vampires were nocturnal. Edward's face snapped to face her own, which, though concentrated elsewhere, noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. She quickly ad libbed. But I guess in this book they can go out in the daytime, and they only grow fangs and wear capes at night. It's a silly book. I wonder why Francie recommended it to me? I'll miss everyone from New York so much... Edward seemed satisfied by the change in thoughts. He hadn't heard the part about his family. Anna noticed the slight quiver in her hand as she picked up her chocolate milk. Maybe he could read minds. She had to be careful. From that moment, Amanda Post was Anna Gregorson. She couldn't dare to be anyone else.

She allowed herself another look at the family. The men were extremely muscular, especially one of them... But the girls looked pretty dangerous as well... except for the human. Edward, the one she suspected of mind reading, sat with his arm around her waist. She looked very twitterpated. It was alarming- was this a habit that they had, to toy with their food? The others all seemed to be with each other. The blond with the weight lifter, the leonine blond male with the short dark-haired pixie. Someone at the table noticed her staring, and was kind enough to fill in the gossip.

"That's Bella Swan. She's dating Edward Cullen, and that's his family. It was crazy- they moved to LA, and she went psycho. She was a zombie. But then, when they moved back, it was like nothing ever happened." Her interest was piqued.

"How long have they been going out?"

"Since about February last year. No, March. Yeah. It was crazy. He'd never dated anyone else." Anna looked at the Cullens one last time. She did not allow herself to have any opinions just yet. She had to just get through this day.

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter everybody! I really just wanted to finish writing this. It was hard to make it so that the MIND READING vampire wouldn't find out about the vampire hunter. It was difficult, also, because I'm back at school. It is not thrilling. Do I need a beta reader? And if so, are there any volunteers? And remember, REVIEW! Just push that button that says "Go", and write some crap about how it is. Flames are okay. Feedback is better than no feedback.


	7. Guarding the Lamb

Chapter Seven: Guarding the Lamb

A/N: I'm going to try to be cinematic and crap and do edits that would look really freaking sweet on camera, but I don't know if they'll translate. And yay me for writing! I need a beta reader dangit. I'm watching "The Work and the Glory" Kudos if you've seen it. Who wants to be beta reader?

Disclaimer: I only own two characters: Anna/Amanda and Tom Mapple. I love OCs.

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Anna paced in her "study", namely, the room where she kept various weaponry and tanks of gasoline. What was she going to do about Bella?

What were they going to do about Bella? Edward thought. Even if she didn't know now, Anna was going to do something to put them all in great danger. But- Bella. She was so fragile. How was he going to keep her safe when the battle came to their door?

Anna bit her lip. They could use her as a bargaining chip. She could be hurt so easily. She was like a Ming vase in a china shop with seven bulls. And she couldn't just let her die- collateral damage was not part of her vocabulary. Her whole life was dedicated to protecting people. She had to be careful. She would go to their house in the middle of the night, and despite the fact that it was risky, the day was simply not an option. She would have to find out where they lived first. She had to find out where they lived. Maybe she could try the police.

Bella would have to stay with Charlie, no matter how hard she tried to sneak out. Perhaps Alice could make sure of that. But then again, the vision could apply to Alice being hacked to pieces... They had better keep her safe with them. She would have to be kidnapped, directly after Charlie went to sleep, every night. Anna might use Bella as a bargaining chip to accomplish her needs- which were still unclear. What did she know and what did she want?

What did the Cullen "family" want with Bella? There was no reason why they would toy with their food so much. They obviously didn't care for her much, they'd left her high and dry for a few months, during which time she became quite lifeless, or so she heard. They came and went on a whim, and Bella was simply a plaything. Anna had seen the way the plaything in question clung to "Edward."She was addicted. He was her drug. But maybe it was just to keep up appearances. You could never tell with vampires.

It would be so much easier to know what she was thinking if she would just think clearly, Edward thought as he sprinted over to the Swan house. Anna's thoughts were completely sanitized, as if run through a filter before reaching her prefrontal cortex. He reached her window, leapt up and pried the widow open easily. Bella was almost asleep, she knew to expect Edward at her side, but the day had worn her out and she simply couldn't remain conscious. Edward gently scooped his angel into a cradled position in his arms. She stirred, but he stroked a hand down her face and she seemed to smile and breach the barrier of consciousness into dreamland. Edward struggled to keep his composure as her scent bloomed around his head. It was all he could do to keep from ducking his head down and taking a warm, blissful drink... He stopped breathing. It didn't help much- the memory alone would drive any normal vampire to mass murder. He had to be careful.

It would be far from easy. Anna had never killed more than two vampires at a time, and that was only one time. It had been grueling wok, but this was daunting. No sane person would have taken a job like this. But then again, sane people don't generally believe in vampires. Not generally. Anna stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was, at first glance, a silly thing to put in a weapons room, but as a person sits among various instruments of death, one needs a mirror around to remind them that they were still human. It was a task that got harder every day. She sighed. Before the vampires caught on would be best- Anna still had the suspicion that Edward read minds, which was paranoid, but then again one has to be a bit paranoid around the paranormal. And the pixie. She looked too _knowing_. It wasn't an entirely new concept, superpowered vamps, while in Iowa as farm girl Jaime, she had seen one of her victims cause vines to grow rampant, where they began to twist around her legs. Thankfully, knives are sharper. So she knew, after that, that vampires were an extremely strange species. So. Edward most likely read minds. So she switched to happy thoughts about her fictional life.

Bella was lost in sleep. Her dream went roughly as such. She was in the woods, of course, and she was with a sparkling Edward. But then Alice came onto the scene, hacked and bleeding. Then Anna had come out of the woods, beckoning to her with anxious eyes. But when she tried to leave, she was picked up with surprising force and carried away. A fight seemed to be happening- one of those unclear dreamlike scenes of which you can never remember any exact details. But then, she felt a taste of the fire that she had experienced after James and his coven had "visited". She saw herself in a mirror and looked straight into a pair of deep red eyes... She jerked awake. She was sitting on the leather couch in Edwards room, with said vampire curled around her. He looked mildly anxious. Of course he knew that she had nothing to fear from a nightmare, but he would never be able to forgive himself for the pain he had caused, and if this was what she had been dwelling on... he cupped her face in his hands. She smiled, almost unaware at the pain Edward felt as she was so close, so fragrant and helpless... He pulled away, still smiling for Bella's sake, who simply tried to pull him closer. Then realization dawned. "You really need to hunt." Edward smiled sadly. It always pained him that he had to take such precautions to keep her safe from himself, and leaving her just wasn't an option. As they sped back to the house, all Edward could think was that this time, Bella was not going to get hurt.

A/N: Wow. Can you say short chapter? I can. Short Chapter. If anyone wants to be beta reader, review or whatever to tell me. And don't say that you've forgotten how to review. It's a button that you click, it says "go", you write how loverly or crappy the story is, and the whole process takes about twenty seconds. And honestly- beta reader wanted. (AKA needed. Remember- the beta reader gets to see the chapter first!)


	8. On Guard

Chapter Eight: On Guard

A/N: I am so sorry that my writing pace has exponentially slowed down. This is mostly due to school, and partly because I just can't stop thinking about the sequel that I'm going to write.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, (mostly ladies) There is Going to be a Sequel.

It's really great too. I'm excited. Oh, and I have a BAJILLION other ideas for stories- Author alert me!

And- Finals week is over! Hallelujah!

Disclaimer: Don't sue me. Cullens, Bella, not my intellectual property. There.

Anna was fairly twitchy the next day. But not externally. Outwardly, she looked like the most happy, sweet, kind, well adjusted person in the world. Everyone gushed after her as she walked to her classes, dispersing reluctantly when they had to get to their own classes. The Cullen family was almost shocked at how extremely besotted the school was of her. Even their own arrival in Forks hadn't caused so much of a stir. After the first day or so, people began to realize that they were simply going to keep to themselves and had no plans of dating anyone. Anna, it seemed, planned on associating herself with everyone, including Bella and the Cullens.

"Hi!" piped a voice behind Bella's head. She nearly tripped, and, turning to face her addresser, found herself face to face with the one person whom she truly feared. Anna. However, Anna didn't appear the least bit threatening as she helped to scoop up some of the textbooks Bella hadn't even realized she'd dropped.

"You must be Bella Swan. I've already heard all of the gossip. Seems you lead quite the interesting life." Anna had decided to throw away all awkwardness by putting all of her cards out on the table. "Seems you scored the hottest guy in school." Bella's step faltered a little bit.

"I think so." she said nervously.

But Anna seemed fairly harmless. Her tone suggested nothing but friendliness, and there weren't any rude comments about her zombie time, which she would have expected. Anna seemed to be just one of those friendly people, like Angie. Maybe, she thought to herself, I get too close and she ends up finding out and tries to save me from my soulmate. She certainly doesn't seem to know anything about vampires now. It's amazing how wrong someone can be. At the moment, Anna was trying to figure out how much Bella knew. She had stumbled, but the magnificent tripping she had demonstrated might just mean she was clumsy. But Bella certainly seemed anxious about something- not everyone was as good an actor as she was. Anna tried to seem nonchalant.

"You'll have to tell me what to expect on the science test tomorrow- the teacher decided to delay it for a day because a couple of people had the flu in our period..." relief flooded Bella's body. Anna was just a nice girl. Nothing to fear there. So she smiled as she talked about what parts of chapter five the test was covering.

Anna knew that Bella was hiding something- was this to be taken as a sign that she knew about her boyfriend's secret? That she was protecting them? Anna was quick to catch little details- how hungry Edward looked as he held her in his arms- the crease in his forehead as she got too close. It was a strain to act out his human role, especially when it came to holding a human in his arms without killing her. In the very back of her mind, a small doubt was growing. Was this strange couple for real? Did Edward Cullen really have feelings for Bella Swan? But that small doubt was completely eclipsed by her complete and total hatred of vampires- one had killed her parents, and for that there was no forgiveness. (A/N: You've got to admit- Anna is one to hold a grudge. I realize this. But that's one of her flaws. She can act, she's a freaking vampire hunter, everyone's her best friend, but she never once thought about the idea that "vamps have feelings too" before just now.)

And so Anna worked. She toiled without ceasing Friday night to Saturday morning. She simply couldn't watch this gruesome facade go on any longer. Every day- hundreds of students at risk of becoming prey to faulty self control... Anna slightly modified the handles of the knives, temporarily turning them into something resembling scythes/axes. She rigged up the most powerful blowtorch she could, and mentally prepped herself for the kill. Saturday night- that was the plan.

Edward stared at Bella's crumpled sleeping figure. He wished so much for sleep, the chance to leave his world for even just a few precious hours... He brushed back a stray piece of hair on her forehead. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he wasn't going to let anyone take that away.

A/N: wow. This was extremely short. But forgive me! I was feeling so bad about not updating in forever that I decided that I just had to finish the chapter and move on to the action! And I'm thinking about making a story set (initially) in the same kind of era as the Wright brothers- a potential vampire who's greatest dream is to build the world's first airplane. His name? Elias Whitby. I don't know. It's just a thought. I'm also just busy writing a real book, one that could get published without infringing on Meyers copyrights.


	9. Impossible

Chapter nine: Impossible

A/N: This is the chapter we've all been waiting for! I was crazy excited to get this up. You have no idea. It was great fun writing this- and I've got almost all of ten written as well. Are you ready? I'm not sure but I know you're impatient so HERE IT IS! (BTW, the song is Uncle Walter from Ben Folds. He's brilliant.)

Don't make the mistake of thinking of Anna as brave.

She was no Tom Mapple, to be sure, but she was shaking like a glass of water in an earthquake.

It wasn't a good feeling.

She was never cool or collected.

She was just a good actor.

She gripped the steering wheel with a mad desperation, as if it could offer any kind of protection against the fight that was to come. It was midnight. Anna was going mad. She was preparing for the most brutal slaughter-

Stop.

She turned up her cd player and tried to focus on the lyrics of the song. "Your uncle Walter told me everything he'd do if he was president. Ah, what a perfect world this world would be if he were president... But he's NOT!" She couldn't allow herself to think about the plan. Edward freaking read MINDS, he was not a vampire to be trifle-

Stop.

She took a deep breath. And then another one. The whole attack would need to be made up completely on the spot, instinct taking over so no moves would be anticipated. Edward needed to be taken out first, because he posed the most immediate danger to her. And then Emmett, for obvious reasons.

Stop.

She groaned. How could she hide anything? It was impossible. Impossible.

She stopped. But for a different reason than before.

Impossible.

Such a foreign word, actually. When she was ten, she would have said that her becoming a vampire hunter was impossible.

Once she started out hunting, if asked, she would have said that it was an impossibility that she would ever take on such a dangerous job.

And she also would have said that mind-reading was impossible.

The teal beetle sped down the road, further from town, closer to doom. One of her knives squeaked against the red leather interior of the car. Anna inhaled. She saw one of the signposts pointing in the direction of her destination- the Cullen's home. Anna exhaled.

And gasped as she rounded the driveway to see a magnificent home, white and creamy. It was not what you would expect from a coven of vampires. It was gorgeous. She realized with a start that one of the vampires, it had to be Carlisle, was standing outside on the porch. He wasn't in exactly the same kind of stance you normally saw with a vampire, especially not the head of a pack. It wasn't territorial as much as protective. But he was definitely expecting her. Of course. She stepped out of the car, brandishing a flamethrower and holding her knives in her left hand.

Carlisle took a step back, and opened his mouth, but to speak, not to rip her throat out. This was an odd development. "I'm afraid there's been a bit of a misunderstanding here, Miss Gregorson. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Carlisle Cullen. May I ask what you're doing on my property with a flamethrower?" He was being perfectly civil, but Anna's deep rooted hatred of vampires merely caused her to divert a small amount of attention to what he was saying, never letting her guard down. Carlisle saw that he wasn't making much headway, and he took a slow step back, slowly taking a white handkerchief from his pocket and waving it slightly in surrender. Either the vampire was a better actor than Anna was, or he was completely serious. "It seems we have no secrets from you, Miss Gregorson, but let me explain a few things. You may have noticed the yellow color of our eyes? This is due to an animal, not human diet. We hunt animals in the forest for food, not people." He was taking no risk in being misunderstood. Anna paused, but in a burst of speed that surprised even Carlisle, she had a knife up to his throat. "Are you completely sure about that? How can I trust your word?" (A/N: Carlisle had decided that the last thing he should do was provoke her to attack, but he's not leaving himself completely vulnerable. Edward's home.)

The inhumanly attractive doctor looked her straight in the eyes. "If you just came inside we could explain things to you. I promise, no harm will come to you." His eyes held such a vast depth of sincerity that she was almost inclined to believe him.

Stop.

Get a freaking grip on yourself.

You know VERY well the evil in the world.

Too well.

Remember your mom and dad?

They're dead.

Know why?

Oh yeah.

Inability to act fast enough when faced with a vampire.

That's why.

They didn't want you to know about their deep, dark secret, and held off action until it became completely necessary.

Look where that got them.

Dead.

Just like you'll be if you don't just-

Gah!

Anna's intuition and prior knowledge were meeting for a final battle that would forever change the course of her life. Forever. After a long struggling minute, intuition won. It would pay to trust the leech, if only for the moment. Her shoulderblades relaxed somewhat, but she remained on guard as the worried doctor led her into the living room. Dr. Cullen, she thought, suddenly putting the name together with the face. The hospital had boasted of an immensely competent doctor of that same name. He seemed genuine. But could appearances be trusted?

She was led to a cream sofa centered in a spacious living room meant to allow the most light into the room as was possible. One wall was entirely made of glass. She kept her knives at the ready, at the same time politely smiling at the doctor, just to catch him off guard. It worked, to an extent. He called softly. "Edward? Bella? We have a guest." Anna was startled that Bella was there, but after a moment of thought decided that it made sense.

It could be a hostage situation, playing to her human sensitivities. They could threaten her with killing an innocent girl for their privacy, or maybe they just wanted to prove their power and willingness to kill.

"What about the rest of the coven?" Anna asked, a slight accusatory note coloring her tone. She wasn't completely sold on the whole, "My family and I only hunt animals" thing. "Out hunting in the forest for food" came a voice directly behind her. She jumped. Edward was standing there with a groggy Bella Swan. "Is she drugged?" Inquired Anna sharply.

"It is midnight. People are generally asleep at this time." Edward reminded Anna. The expression on Bella's face really clinched it for Anna. She saw the worn, tired look. Scared, afraid. But not of Edward.

Of her.

She was afraid for the sake of her undead boyfriend. It was an awkward moment which hung in the air for a moment. Anna felt that her mouth had gone dry when she whispered "So you know and," she stopped.

Impossible.

A vampire with a human girlfriend that completely accepted him for who he was?

Impossible...

A sudden thought occurred to Anna. "You've all been planning for this, haven't you? Even before I came."

Edward stepped in. "My sister, Alice, sees the future."

How am I not surprised? Anna thought. "And you read minds."

Edward nodded approvingly. "You fooled us for a while. I wondered if you'd worked that out." he paused. "But how?"

Anna's mind flashed back to the plant manipulating vampire, the way Edward had been looking at her without looking at her, the strangeness that Bella had exhibited in conversation, the knowing air...

She looked up at Edward, who looked stunned but understanding, but of different things. He had seen the attitude that she had towards vampire hunting, that was stunning. It was routine. It was common. Deducing the mind-reading, that was exceptional too, but...

"How long have you been a vampire hunter?"

Anna dropped her eyes. "Eight years. My parents were killed by a vampire when I was living in Oregon." Her expression noticeably softened when Jasper came home. She hadn't seen him yet, and he was planning on staying in another room to avoid temptation, but his calming influence was greatly appreciated by all members of the household. Rosalie and Emmett wisely decided to go to their room as well, due to their extremely intimidating looks.

Esme was... mothering. Anna had low blood sugar, and in an attempt to rectify this had gone into the kitchen to start preparing some dinner. Mostly they tried to keep out of the way.

Except Alice, eyes shining a little too brightly as she skipped to Edward's side, whispering something in his ear. It was considerate, thought Carlisle, to demonstrate a little human behavior. But now all of the Cullens were on edge. Esme was feeling a little out of practice with cooking, and enlisted Bella's help in cooking the noodles. Seventy years without human food does something to you. Bella stood up to leave the awkward scene quickly enough, but she saw that Anna was not as anxious to see her go. She saw a short flash of fear in her eyes, and with a start Bella saw just how scared Anna really was.

Questions were being asked of Anna.

Did you know your parents were vampire hunters?

How did you manage to live alone all of these years?

And other things along that line. Anna felt herself start to cry as she spilled all of the pent up feelings she had accumulated over the past eight years. It was all Esme could do not to rush in and give her a hug. But there was another thing to know.

"Can I see those knives?"

Anna handed ONE knife to Carlisle for his examination.

He ran his finger along the seemingly dull blade and nicked his hand.

"Anna?" He said slowly. "Where did your parents get werewolf claw?"

Anna fainted.

Werewolves??

Impossible.

A/N: I'm terrible. Right? What a cliffhanger! I've given up on beta readers, seeing as I have absolutely no idea how they work. But I won't give up in my quest for reviews! They're easier than a lot of things! You click a button, type, and then click another button. It's not like I'm asking you to turn straw into gold here. But how did you like it? You need to tell me. Seriously. I write better with more reviews. And wasn't this a nice long chapter? Did you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it? Because this was my favorite chapter to write- other than maybe when I started and when I introduced Tom.


	10. Lines and Lasagna

Chapter ten: Lines and Lasagna

A/N: I am so freaking sick. I even went home from school, which I never do. I'm cooking some spinach and Parmesan ravioli, so while the pot boils, I write you guys all a chapter.

I'm a saint.

Disclaimer: If I was the author, would my penname be Ella? no. It would be Stephenie. So find yourself a new fanfic author to be beguiled by. I'm just me. But like Stephenie, Muse does inspire me! And BTW, I am not happy about the Twilight cast. Meh.

Anna woke up.

She was not a morning person. (Who is?) so the details of what had happened were quite vague. Thoughts started to pool, but very slowly.

She was on a wossname?

Bed, that was good.

With a pillow...blanket... nice...

Knife in her hand, wait, where was the other?

Oh yeah.

Wossname, Edward looked at it.

Edward? You remember...

Vampires!

Knives!

WEREWOLVES!

She jerked into a sitting position, screaming.

She was still in the vampires lair, she surmised from the fact that she was in a completely unfamiliar area. They hadn't eaten her yet, either. Anna winced at the "yet." They had all been so nice.

She had tried to kill them.

Insulted them.

Cried and got emotional,

and yet they put up with her.

Bella and Edward.

He was over a hundred.

He wanted to drink her blood.

He was perfect for her.

Once Anna had accepted the fact that the Cullens were benign, she'd seen how genuinely great of people they were. Dr. Cullen... Hundreds of years, perfecting his self control...

Werewolves. She grinned suddenly. Tom Mapple would be scared out of his wits.

"Who's Tom?" inquired a soft voice. Anna gasped, wondering if she would ever get used to their silent arrivals. She felt not. She turned to see Edward holding out a plate of lasagna. She took the plate gratefully and started eating. She rarely made lasagna- when cooking for one, you feel compelled to finish the entire lasagna before cooking again, resulting in a very boring palatte.

"He's my business partner." she said in response to his question. She hadn't brought him up the night before.

"Partner?" Anna was sick of answering questions, and settled for thinking the answer at Edward. It seemed to work. Edward chuckled. He'd seen a vision of Tom being surprised by Anna in the Chicago cafe, and of several phone conversations over the years. He was as character, to be sure. "And he's your top informant?" Anna smiled. Edward had noticed the particularly deep nature of Anna's thoughts. In moments, she could share a vast amount of information by a simple thought. She stewed over her thoughts, and each memory was accompanied with incredible detail and commentary.

But I suppose, he thought, when you have no friends you spend the most time in your own head.

But Anna was stewing again, he could feel. Edward quickly tuned in.

"_...I mean, what the crap is up with werewolves? But I guess that it's naive to assume that if you discover vampires, it means that there are vampires and humans. What a revelation like that shows you is that you don't know anything. Wizards? Most likely. But dwarves? Still skeptical. Edward? Stop staring and tell me about werewolves. And by the way, when is the next full moon?"_ Edward hadn't realized that he was staring.

"It doesn't take a full moon to produce a werewolf. Just a very irritated Quileute."

Anna had done her homework when she moved to Forks. The fork dropped to her plate."You mean the Quileutes? Who live on the reservation?" she said in a weak, sort of strangled voice. "Do you guys get together for potlucks on the reservation, hunting down bears and deer and crap?" Edwards lips were pursed, and Anna saw that by all means, no, they were not friends and did not hunt together. It was more like the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, where vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies. Ah. She smiled.

"How does that work out?"

Edward grimaced. "It doesn't, really. We lived here seventy years ago, as we may have told you. When we came, the werewolf pack was... reluctant, to let us live. To say the very least. Thankfully, we were less imposing then, with only Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and myself in the...coven, as it were. Carlisle was able to persuade the pack of our good nature, and a fragile treaty was made. We cannot go onto their land, or- bite anyone." Edward paused. No biting anyone, much to Bellas dismay. Why couldn't she see how lucky she was? How normal her life could be? He decided to push questions of his angels sanity for later. There were other matters to attend to, and a story to tell.

"But it held peace. When we moved away, they must have thought that they'd seen the last of us...They certainly weren't pleased when we moved back- especially not with three more vampires in tow. _(A/N: I don't remember who exactly moved to Forks the first time, and my sister in college stole all my Twilight books, and the lexicon is down, so I couldn't fact check.) _But they were able to tolerate it.."

He paused. "They broke the treaty, actually. Jacob Black was the one who told Bella about our family."

Anna was finding certain things hard to believe. "He told her that he was a werewolf and that you were a vampire and she believed him?" There was a heavy layer of skepticism in her voice. But Edward shook his head, slowly. "He didn't know about the Pack then- he wasn't a werewolf yet. He didn't believe the stories either, not until... fairly recently." Anna knew how recently from his tone.

The depression.

The suicidal comatose time.

Edward still hadn't forgiven himself.

In a gesture that was completely out of character, Anna found herself putting her hand on his knee. "It wasn't your fault. You were doing only what seemed best. Bella's just insane."

Edward had to smile at this description. "Bella had been wondering for a while exactly what we were. She was perceptive enough to tell that we weren't entirely... human. She made a habit of coming up with 'theories'. She didn't try to run from it. She confronted me with her latest idea, and..." he chuckled.

"You'd think a normal person would react more."

Anna couldn't exactly wrap her mind around anything, at the moment. Everything she'd learned from years experience had been put in a completely new light. Edward paused, and she knew that he must be reading her mind. This was getting very frustrating. How much did Bella have to put up with? Edward shook his head in slight bewilderment. Anna put her empty plate down on the table beside the bed.

"I can't read her mind." They both paused for an extended moment. The world was a very, very confusing place, and not one to storm through without thought of what happened next. You had to step lightly and carefully. At this moment, Anna decided to come clean.

"My name isn't Anna. It's Amanda. Amanda Post. I change my name every time I move, to avoid getting tracked down by angry vampires. And I'm sorry for thinking of you and your family as evil and soulless bloodsucking demons straight from Hades to torture mankind." Edward merely nodded.

"Apology accepted. But you seem to be mistaken about the level of social networking among our kind. Nomadic clans may pass through the area occasionally, but we prefer a more solitary existence. The only other group like ours that we know of is in Alaska. Denali, to be exact."

Amanda made a mental note not to kill vampires in Alaska before asking if they knew the Cullens first. Edward spoke up again. "You might want to avoid Italy as well. That's where the Volturi are."

"Volturi?"

"Vampire royalty, almost. Very powerful."

A very strong mental note was made- NEVER go to---

"Volterra." Edward supplied.

Volterra, Italy. Never.

Amanda sighed. "What should I do about these werewolf knives? I feel like- like I really need to figure out what the crap is going on. My parents were vampire hunters and never told me." She said in a flat voice.

Edward looked unwilling to share something. But he decided that her emotional stability was important. "The members of the pack include Paul, Jacob, Sam, Embry, and Quil. _(A/N: I really don't remember who was in the pack at this point. I beg forgiveness.) _They're tall, muscular, with short black hair. Often they go barefoot or without shirts," at this Edward grimaced. "And they're generally always together. Hope this helps.

Amanda was already pulling out her car keys. "What time is it?"

He smiled at her impatience. "Six o clock. You were out for quite a while. All of those midnight vampire hunts must wreak havoc on your sleeping schedule."

Amanda rolled her eyes, and ran out of the house to her Beetle, nicknamed Beastmaster, and started off down the road, reaching almost vampirelike speeds.

She was going to interrogate some werewolves.

Heck yeah.

A/N: Woo hoo! It's done! I'm really freaking proud. Two chapters up in one week! I'm going to go eat a bagel now, to reward myself. And you know why I wrote so much? Reviews. They're wonderful. Won't you give me one? I'd even settle for the "Rilly good, write faster!" 1 second review. S'better than nothing. And BTW, I'm not sick anymore! Now press GO and write me a note! Even a flame!


	11. Werewolf Magnet

Chapter eleven: Werewolf Magnet

A/N: I wasn't at all sure how I wanted to write this one- so I just went ahead and wrote it. I hope you guys all like it, and listen to Death Cab for Cutie! Btw, Anna is Amanda. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone when I use both names. You know what's not fair? I've gotten sick twice in two weeks. The first time I lost my voice. Now I have a fever and a hacking cough. It's lame. And if certain technology or songs haven't even been made at the time of the story, oh well. (were there iPhones in 2006?)

Anna- no,

Amanda sped down the road in her teal green Beastmaster VW Bug. From studying maps of the area before moving there, she was able to get a pretty good idea of where to go to reach the Quileute reservation. But, just in case, she got out her slick new iPhone (Anna was a sucker for apple technology) and went to Google maps, getting directions. Just then, she remembered a phone call she needed to make to a certain Chicago resident.

Amanda dialed Tom Mapple's cell.

It was picked up at the first ring.

"Hello?" Asked a familiar voice. "Are you ok? Is it over?" Tom had not been very supportive of her choice to go to Forks. Amanda cruelly decided to string him along.

"Tom- All of the vampires are still alive. I'm driving as fast as I can away. They found out about our whole operation- gosh, they even know where you live. One of them sees the future, and another reads minds. He could be reading yours... Right. Now."

Amanda felt a guilty surge of pleasure as she felt his anxiety increasing. Although she wasn't a vampire and they were states away, Amanda imagined that she could hear his heartbeat grow faster. A laugh gave her away and Tom started yelling. "That's not funny, Amanda! You had me scared to death! How did it really go?"

"Actually, I wasn't really lying. I'm driving as fast as I can away from their house to go to the Indian reservation to interrogate some werewolves, and they're all alive, and the future/mind reading... All true. Seriously. Forks is even more messed up than we thought."

There wasn't any sound from the other line and for a moment Amanda wondered if he'd died of a heart attack or hung up. But the sound of his squeak soon assured her that it was not so.

"Their... house?" He said weakly, hoping that it was still all some extended prank. He knew as well as her that vampires were not sedentary in nature- tracking vampires was difficult precisely for this reason. But Amanda was never that cruel. She wouldn't drag out something like this. And she seemed so serious...

"Yeah... House. They're like a family. There's Carlisle, the "dad" and town doctor, and Esme, who seems too sweet for words. Alice can see the future- she's really short, she's like a dark haired Tinkerbell. Edward is the mind reader, and he has a human girlfriend, Bella. She knows everything- she actually found out from the werewolves that he was a vampire. She's completely mental, but..."

Amanda trailed off, not sure exactly how to explain the dimensions of their relationship. They were constantly protecting each other. And occasionally going comatose and jumping off cliffs, but that's beside the point. It was f'real, honest-to-goodness love. Amanda regained some control.

"I didn't see much of Jasper, Rosalie, or Emmett. But I have the feeling that Jasper has some kind of special thing- but I still can't tell. (A/N: Amanda is freakishly perceptive.) They were out hunting most of the time- and when I say hunting, I do mean for animals. They all have these gold eyes instead of red from... not killing humans."

It was a long speech, and it contained almost too much information for one person to handle, even if that person already believed in vampires.

"Wow."

Amanda just nodded, until she realized that you can't send a nod over the phone. "I know."

"This changes things, doesn't it?" Tom's tone had an odd maturity to it, a new depth she'd never heard.

Amanda knew exactly what he meant. This brought up a whole new ethical side to the vampire issue. It sounded like, from what Carlisle said, that most vampires don't have the self control to handle themselves enough to stay away from humans, and they don't even know there's the option. But they had souls- they were people too. Amanda had told herself for years what a service she was doing by ridding the world of the evil beasts, creatures without a shred of good in their being. But they could be good. But then Amanda remembered something. "Just a note- we can't do anything in Denali, Alaska or Volterra, Italy. Probably best to stay away from Italy as a whole, actually."

The tone of her voice stopped Tom from asking why. And he thought that he wouldn't want to know in any case. But he still had a question. "And you're going to the Werewolf reservation why?"

Amanda smiled. "You know my vampire knives? How they're the only thing strong enough to rip them? Werewolf claw. I know, right? So I'm going to see if said wolves ever knew my parents. Well, I'm stopping home first, but that's in pretty much the same direction."

The phone line was silent a while as comments unspoken bridged the gap of many miles.

It's going to be dangerous, isn't it?

Probably.

Well... be careful.

I always am.

I hope you're right about this one.

Me too.

There was another pause. "Bye Amanda."

"Bye Tom." Amanda ended the call.

You may wonder how two people like Amanda and Tom could ever be friends.

It's simple, really.

They share a common enemy, and a common purpose, to exterminate that enemy.

They'd known each other for years.

They'd been through a lot of crap together.

So they loved each other.

Not romantic love- Tom and Amanda were like brother and sister- it sometimes seemed as if they'd known each other their entire lives. And Tom was worried- he sometimes feared that she was getting herself too deep, and this was one of those times.

Amanda checked herself in the mirror, reapplying a coat of lipstick. She checked her reflection.

Smokin'.

She looked sexy, not in a slutty way, but in a way that could not be described as pretty or cute.

She was hot.

And she knew it.

It was a carefully crafted look. Her hair was just the slightest bit messy, and her eyeliner made her eyes smoky and dark. She was mysterious. She was a werewolf magnet. She tried out a mysterious smile. Amanda was completely in character as she walked out to her car. She slid into the drivers seat, adjusting her mirrors in a way that would make any single man, or wolf, drool. Amanda stepped on the gas with one stiletto heel and was soon on her way to the Quileutes. Poor werewolves.

Anna pulled over on the side of the road, parking her bug. It was still fairly early in the morning, but that would just make her job even easier. No humans would be around to interfere. She strutted into the reservation, oozing confidence with every step. There was a group of people near the edge of the forest, and Amanda smiled indulgently. This would be fun. She tried to recall which of the wolves was single. Not Jacob. Edward hated him too much for it to not be a jealousy issue. Sam was out. So she threw out a random name. "Is there an Embry Call around here?" she said in her most seductive, melodic voice. She could almost pass for vampire that way. Six heads turned. She smiled, mentally checking off boxes in her head.

They were all Native American.

They were all super muscled.

There were six of them.

They were panting like dogs.

Oh, yes. Amanda would have fun.

"There you are. I've heard so much about all of you." She crooned, drawing closer to the group. They weren't really sure what to do. They did not know her. Embry hadn't ever thought about her while a werewolf- they would have heard. And the way she said "all of you"...Sam smelled a vampire. Metaphorically. But he had no proof. "How do you know us?" Sam said. Amanda drew them in close with a beckoning finger. "can you keep a secret?" She asked. Sam nodded cautiously for the group. She smiled. "so can I. I'm looking for the Quileute werewolves, and I assume that I've found them. I'm Anna Gregorson. Does anyone recognize these?" She suddenly had the knives out, one thrust in the direction of Sam's throat. It was a clear threat. Sure, werewolves healed fast. But you can't heal a chopped head very well. Jacob cleared his throat. The entire Pack thanked him silently. This girl was freaky. A knife pressed his neck as well. Amanda wasn't taking any chances with these guys. Supernatural creatures had to earn her trust. Her performance had brought about the desired affect: she was dangerous. They should be very afraid. To get six werewolves to fear you, and just by being sexy, was no small feat. Jacob spoke slowly, in an effort not to get sliced.. "I think that we ought to go to Billy."

A/N: In the beginning it was going to be a much less intense chapter, but then a review that said something along the lines of "I hope she kicks some werewolf butt" convinced me that I had to really up my game on this one, as well as bring in some of Amanda's acting skills. The image of the Pack drooling after her was also just too funny. I bet some of you were getting worried where it was going. Don't worry! It's all PG, pretty much. But see? Your reviews really make a difference! Honestly! I think about these things. And I'm so sorry that it' been so long.


	12. The Apple Never Falls Far From the Tree

Chapter twelve: The Apple Never Falls Far From the Tree

A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I am so sorry to everyone. (I hate standardized testing!!) But this chapter was insanely hard to write. You'll notice that I try really, really hard to keep to the story and just try to see what happens when Amanda is around- I don't make up things about the Cullens, Swans, or Blacks? I call that Dangerous Speculation. This is the first time I've needed to fabricate about a character. It's very difficult for me. This is why I took a freaking month. Thanks lightningstorms and emptinessxtoxfillxme for your continued support and reviews! And to the rest of you... REVIEW! (even though you might say that I don't deserve it anymore)

Billy Black was not expecting company. Bella had gotten grounded due to her stunts in Italy and with the motorcycles, so he wasn't expecting Jacob to bring any girls around.

Especially not ones that were trying to slice off his head. Billy wheeled over to where they were. The girl had wavy hair, red lips and a leather jacket. She looked familiar.

In a flash of neurons, the elderly Native American remembered why. But it had been twenty years...

A whimper from Jacob brought him out of his reminiscence. The girl had a determined look on her face, and a smile that would cut through diamond. Yes, she reminded Billy very much of Valerie Tocher.

"Is this Billy?" Her words were short and crisp. Sam attempted to nod without severing his jugular. There was a knife still firmly pressed to his neck, and there were some wounds even werewolf magic can't heal. (decapitation, what say?)

"Yes, that would be me, Billy Black." He said in a weary tone Too much had been going on lately. Amanda thought for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "You seem to know me from somewhere. Perhaps my parents?" Billy was struck by the remarkable lack of trust there was in her voice. If other people made you earn their trust, it seemed that for this girl, you paid in advance for lies you hadn't told, betrayals never considered, and if you were to get in her good graces, you had to plan on shedding blood, sweat and tears. Tom was an exception- he was too strangely frightened of her for her to not put complete faith in him. She let go of the werewolves, who partly wanted to tear her to shreds but mostly wanted to run away. "If any of you phase you die." she hissed between her teeth. They believed her. With good reason. Billy wheeled forward. "Calm down. How much do you know?" Billy decided to take every precaution- he didn't want to break the treaty by letting slip a little something about a certain immortal family.

Amanda smiled. "I know that there's a pack of werewolves standing behind me, due to a genetic mutation in the Quileute tribe. They're mortal enemies of the vampire, and there's a coven of seven living nearby. A fragile treaty keeps the peace between you, Jacob's crazy if he thinks he has a chance with Bella, and I know that these knives- werewolf claw- were used by my parents as they hunted bloodsuckers across the country."

Jacob looked shocked and embarrassed. Bella was a touchy subject on the reservation. Everyone knew that Jake was head over heels for her, but it wasn't like she was his imprint. But every time they were phased, they had to hear nonstop about how dumb Bella was being, how much he loved her, how he hated Edward... But werewolf claw knives? The pack trembled. They didn't even know all of that. Had she harvested them herself? But Billy paused in his seat with a smile. "It would seem as though you're well informed." Amanda nodded. "I was just at the Cullens." Amanda, seeing the fear and lack of phasing, decided that she'd intimidated them enough for one day, and settled for explaining the situation.

"If you really MUST know, I was going to kill them, but since I GAVE THEM A CHANCE," Amanda was very angry at the wolves. They hated vampires without discrimination, despite knowing one of the loveliest covens around. Such discrimination, however, did not apply to her when it came to confronting werewolves. They deserved a threat. Amanda smoothed back her hair and continued. "Anyway, after I gave them a chance, I saw that they were quite peaceable and I had no reason to go forward with my plan. But I did find out that the knives which I was going to use on them were made of werewolf claw. Since the only werewolves we know of were here, I decided to drop by. So Billy- do you know Valerie and Alan Post?"

Billy nodded once, and started to relate the story of how he first came to learn about the mysterious world of vampires and werewolves. "Twenty years ago, after the Cullens had already left and the werewolf pack died, I didn't really believe in any of the legends about werewolves and vampires, though the council was extremely sure of itself on the matter. One day, though, I was just milling about the town, minding my own business, and then..."

A crinkly smile lifted the corners of Billy's mouth. "Then a young couple burst out of the trees, stopping directly in front of me, asking where the Quileute wolves were. I wasn't exactly sure of what they meant, so I just pointed in the direction of the forest. Valerie- your mother- snarled that that was the absolutely wrong kind of wolf- did he take her for a fool? No, she wanted to know where the werewolves were." Billy paused, looking off into the distance for a moment. "That's when I first understood the truth of all the old stories. That the council was right all along- there were monsters out there in the world. Dazed, I led them to the council, where Alan and Valerie demanded to hear everything currently known about vampires. They didn't mention the Cullen family- it would be a direct breach of the treaty. But they did tell her all about the speed, the sun, the immortality, and the color changing eyes."

Billy cocked his head to the side. "You know, I don't think they ever specified a color. Gold vs Red, you realize, can tell you a lot." He took a deep breath. Billy did not like defending the Cullen family. They were heartless vampires who drank blood and- stop. Billy chided himself. The girl already knows this. But she believes in their goodness! She believes their lies, told with their inhuman smiles on their wicked faces. She's been seduced by their charm, just like Bella. Billy shook himself out of his inner turmoil to finish telling the story. "So Alan, your father?" Amanda nodded once in confirmation. "Alan asked how they could kill them. They were told that the only thing strong enough was werewolf claw, and one of the council members drew them aside, whispering something I couldn't hear. Valerie nodded, and a box was brought out to them, containing several werewolf claw knives, fashioned by the elders to help the non-werewolf Quileutes protect themselves. But Valerie and Alan swore, very loudly, that they would do whatever it took to eliminate the vampire race from existence. Then they left, and I never saw them again." He smiled faintly. "You look just like her, you know. And you hunt vampires as well, eh? Well, the apple never falls far from the tree."

Amanda felt herself blush at the compliment. It was a compliment to her, anyway. She liked to think of herself as carrying on their noble work. This action broke her carefully cultivated facade, but just for a second. So it looked like the wolves were all right after all. She had been wondering if her parents had killed a wolf to get them, which was a troubling idea, but it seemed as if, like now, they were scared enough to oblige. Amanda looked Billy straight in the eye, and very softly mouthed "thank you". It was the first time in a long time she'd really talked about her parents, and this new revelation cleared up many things. It looks like they'd fully seen the scope of the supernatural world when they first became married- the same time- the same time Valerie's brother had been killed. Amanda's stomach turned, recalling for the first time in a long time the story of Uncle Stewart...

_Amanda was looking at old photo albums of her mom in the kitchen. It was April, eleven years ago?Yes- It was when mom decided to redecorate the whole house in red and yellow. She was stripping the old blue wallpaper from the wall, a scarf tied around her head and those horrible yellow gloves for doing dishes Amanda had always despised. Queens Greatest hits were in the tape player, but her mom had just switched it to They Might Be Giants just as Amanda turned to the page with a picture of two children- her mom and a little boy she didn't recognize. She was sitting on top of the kitchen counter, the chairs and table all having been removed. She had to yell over the tape player to be heard. "Who's this?" mom had looked at her in confusion, then turned down Particle Man in order to hear. "What?" She came over to see. Mom became still as soon as she saw the picture. "That's my brother." she said shortly. It seemed to Amanda, who was seven and still naive, that if she had an uncle she deserved to know about it. "How come I've never met him? What's his name?" Valerie looked aside. "His name's Stewart and he passed away- before you were born." Amanda, feeling that this soundbite was an insufficient synopsis of a life, pressed for more details. "I don't like talking about it." _

_It had ended there. _

Amanda blinked, and she remembered that she was in the midst of wolves. "Sorry." she muttered, looking down before they caught the hint of a misty eye. "reminiscing." Billy suddenly understood why Amanda hadn't just asked her parents if they had known werewolves. He wheeled over and put an arm around her shoulder. "What happened?" He asked quietly. "Bloody stupid vampire attack eight years ago." The werewolves were suddenly and wholeheartedly on her side. They had a common enemy, and that brings people together. From that day, Amanda was an honorary werewolf. She even had the claws to be one of them.

A/N: If you're angry with me for not updating in forever, so am I. But the following chapters will be much easier for me to write. They'll come up sooner. I think that this chapter turned out fairly well. But please- press that purple button down there- I don't know if anyone even reads my story anymore. Review.


	13. Old Friends and Plane Tickets

Chapter Thirteen: Old Friends and Plane Tickets

A/N: I know, I know... I never update soon enough for anyone's tastes. And it was mentioned that Amanda had freaky skill in hacking. I like to think that Alan was a big nerd and taught her all he knew, which was a ton, and that she was able to really take advantage of the internet while it was in its early stages. It was easier to hack years ago, I would assume. But now- here's some face time with everyone's favorite OC!

Amanda got home from the Quileute reservation, after finding out exactly what werewolves were capable of and taking it all down in a notepad. It was worrying, the vast amount of power, but at least they were on her side. But as she pulled into the driveway, she noticed another car...

It had better not be social workers, wondering why they'd never seen my parents anywhere, and wondering if I was some psychopath teen who decided to chop her parents into bits, bury them in the backyard, and go about life as normal. She contemplated what she should do, (It was between bursting into tears and being completely unintelligible while they grilled her regarding recent family matters or running away and acting like the whole family had gone missing, then planting evidence that they'd been murdered later.) when she realized someone was in the car- cowering.

Cowering...

There was only one person in the world who cowered so pathetically. Amanda got out of the Beastmaster and ran up to the Chevy, rapping on the window. "Tom?"

He nearly jumped when he heard. He hit his head on the ceiling as he tried to get out quickly. "Amanda! I'm so glad you're ok. I was so worried... I- I thought that maybe, the vampires could brainwash people- you did mention supernatural powers in the past, so I-I..." He trailed off. "So you're really ok?" Amanda smiled. Tom was so thoughtful. She gave him a big hug, something she hadn't done for a long time. "Amanda? AMANDA?" Tom started to worry that maybe his brainwashing hypothesis was correct. Amanda was reserved, calculating in her dealings with people, unless it was for a part. But she had promised that she would never deceive him. Amanda broke off, slightly irritated. "Am I really that intimidating that a HUG is worrying?" Tom breathed out a sigh of relief. "I guess so." That was the Amanda he knew. Amanda brought him inside, where she dug out a large chocolate muffin from the bulk pack she had purchased at Costco while out of town. (Amanda didn't appreciate the limited selection the town's one grocery store had, and as such ventured out often. They also didn't carry Costco muffins.) She told him about all of the Cullens, and the Quileutes, but saw that nothing she said was helping him much. So Amanda decided upon a risky course of action.

"Tom, get in the car."

As the Beastmaster got closer and closer to the Cullen's house, Tom felt his anxiety increase exponentially. No matter what Amanda said, no matter how many reassurances he had to hear, (that they had decades of practice, they don't kill people, it's ok, if you're going to barf roll down the window these seats are leather...) Tom was still inclined to believe that they would rip his throat out. The amount of carnage he'd seen when- when...

Tom never, ever told anyone what had happened. When he first saw- first- saw- v-vampires. He had been simply walking home from the comic shop when movement in a nearby alley made him stop. It was late at night- and he wasn't making very much sound. It didn't look like they'd noticed him. At first sight it looked simply like another drug deal gone awry. But he saw that one of the figures had thick dark curls, tattered but expensive clothing, as well as a red look in his eye as he picked up the gasping transient, who realized what was happening just before- before... Before the vampire bent over the man's neck, and with a crunch dug into his meal, not stopping for breath because it wasn't necessary. And the screams...The screams, he would never forget those. The murder, grisly as it had been, hadn't left much of a trace on the ground. True, there was a trickle, but the vampire did a very clean job. As he left, Tom had backed away almost as far as possible into the nooks and crannies of the nearby realtor's office- everywhere was closed for the night, except for the comic shop. As far as Tom could tell, the owner didn't have much of a life and pretty much lived in that shop. So it seemed that he was the only witness...

Of course, no one would have believed him if he had said that a vampire had killed a hobo down on Eighth Avenue. He wasn't a very convincing person. He was even beginning to doubt himself when he saw the figure stand up, wipe a finger around his mouth, and dash off at an inhuman speed.

Tom realized what he had seen. But there was nothing he could do about it.

Until he met Amanda. Amanda had a no-nonsense approach to life. If there was something that needed to be done, you did it yourself because someone else would just screw it up. She killed his nightmares for him. Tom started sleeping better nights. But the Cullen situation had made him wake up in a cold sweat, so he paid her a visit.

And how did she return him? Making him visit vampires.

The Cullen house was gorgeous, to be true, but nothing could dismiss Tom's well-founded fears. Amanda contemplated. The Cullens hadn't ever had to deal with people who were terrified of them. Bella was too in love to be scared, and she had stormed in ready to kill them. They had dealt with both situations beautifully. But now...

Alice at least had the decency to wait until she knocked on the door. "Hi Amanda! Hi Tom! Come inside!" Alice chirped. Tom was frozen to the spot. She did not seem to be of the same stock as the vampire he first encountered in Chicago, but he could see that the power was there, lurking underneath the friendly exterior. Or maybe that was just his paranoia acting up. It was probably a combination of the two. Alice didn't really think to tone down her personality for anyone. Thankfully, Jasper noted the extreme tension and decided, for the sake of his own nerves if nothing else, that he was going to put a damper on the nerves. Tom felt better, even when he realized why he was feeling better. Jasper was just that good.

The necessary introductions were made, and Tom was seated on the couch. Chatting happened. Socialization as well. Visits with the pack were shared, and they all had a good laugh. Tom managed to not pee his pants. This was a big thing. Or course, he didn't think about that. He tried not to think at all, really. Not with Edward around. Edward personally thought Tom to be amusing, all though it was slightly worrying, the increase in humans that were in on their secret. The threat of the Volturi seemed to increase every day. Edward stopped this destructive chain of thought. Amanda was careful, he reminded himself. She erased her tracks. No one would be exposing their kind. And Tom wasn't even a threat. Edward scanned Amanda's and Tom's thoughts to see if there was any sort of romantic relationship between them...Nope. Tom's never even dated, really. Rosalie was feeling almost glad that there was some people out there who didn't see becoming vampires as enviable. She didn't really understand Bella because of that. But she pitied that Volkswagen Beetle of Amanda's- not much speed at all. (A/N: Will all Fanfiction writers please please PLEASE stop making Rosalie a blond witch. She's a nice person, headstrong maybe, but certainly nice.)

When the whole ordeal was over, Esme packed up the leftover lasagna to send with them- they had no use for it. Tom paused before getting in the Beastmaster. "We're not seeing any werewolves, are we?" He said. Amanda shook her head. "You don't deserve to die young."

She left Tom to puzzle over the cryptic statement all the way home.

Amanda knew something was up. Tom had been more edgy than usual, his comments during the conversation brief. But it wasn't just fear... Preoccupation, maybe? "Tom, there's something you're not telling me. You've been thinking about it the whole time. I knew you wouldn't set yourself up to be in a city full of monsters for no reason. Fess up."

Tom nodded, marveling at her powers of perception. "I picked something up yesterday, combing the feeds. A group, some kind of organization was mentioned. Something called the Night Watch. New York. The post revealed nothing specific, and was taken down within minutes. But- Amanda? Amanda??"

The Night Watch.

Those familiar with Terry Pratchett's Discworld series would know- the night watch is a police force, filled with those who bring about the law in a very lawless way. The Discworld series was a favorite of hers, what with the witches, wizards, trolls, dwarves, DEATH, werewolves... Vampires... Amanda closed her eyes. Whatever this group was, human or inhuman, they sure had a sense of humor.

She was going to New York.

A/N: One more chapter left. Seems soon to end, doesn't it? Sequel coming soon! Better put me on Author Alert if you want to see it.


	14. Indecision and Resolution

Chapter Fourteen: Indecision and Resolution

A/N: Last chapter! I know, it's strange. It feels like her story hasn't ended yet- because it hasn't. You need to make sure you Author Alert me so you can read the sequel, Prey. It's going to be even better than this one. And the Cullens are going to be in it, but as the Prey starts, so does Eclipse. They'll be busy with newborn armies for a while.

Disclaimer: Look, you know that I'm not Stephenie Meyer. Would I be writing Fanfiction? No.

Amanda and Tom packed her few possessions (Mostly books) into a moving van. The students of Forks High had been shocked and sad when they heard that Anna was leaving, and had shown up bearing gifts of cookies and other baked goods to express their profound sorrow at the loss of their favorite classmate. Anna was touched when she saw the grave procession, and wavered in her determination to leave. She hadn't realized what a profound effect Anna had had on people. She wondered if she'd ever see any of her classmates again. There was... Natalie. She'd given her some boyfriend advice. And Eve, a shy girl who had become suddenly popular after being granted a place at Amanda's very crowded lunch table. But a decision had been made. Amanda had though long and hard the night before about her choice to leave, waging an internal battle with herself.

"Amanda, what on earth do you think you're doing! You have friends here, and you're not in danger of getting killed for once! Why not take this opportunity to put down some roots, maybe settle down?"

"You know perfectly well why I have to leave." she growled.

"Why is that, Amanda? So you can go kill vampires? You know, some people can go a few days without getting all vigilante."

"But mom and dad-"

"Yes, yes I know! But there was a reason that they never told you about vampires. They didn't want you mixed up in all of that! They wanted you to live a normal, happy life."

"While there are vampires out there, killing people? I'm sorry, but someone has to carry on their work. And what about the Night Watch?"

"What about the Night Watch? You know absolutely nothing about it. It could be a complete false alarm. Or something completely harmless, maybe a D&D group who thinks they're all that."

"Tom visited Forks to tell me. It seemed like he didn't think it was a safe conversation for the phone or email."

"You're overreacting. But do you know what the saddest part of your life is, Amanda? You'll never fall in love, never get married, never be a normal person. You'll always be this wandering vampire killer with no one to talk to but some werewolves, vampires, and Tom. Normal human friends are out of reach for you."

"I have friends! At school, everyone is dying to be counted as a personal friend of mine."

"Yes, just like every other town you've been to. But how many of them do you still talk to? How many of them think you died?"

Amanda bit her lip. She was very good at faking her own death, and employed it often as a convenient excuse to get out of one town and into another quickly. But she knew that she couldn't avoid who she was. "I know I'll never be happy living a normal lifestyle. Every time I see a murder on TV I'll start wondering, and any husband of mine will never really know the real me, just the pleasant cheerful facade I'm used to putting up. I don't know how I could ever tell anyone, however close to me, about my vampire filled past without being sent to a nuthouse. You know that."

And thus Amanda decided to go to New York and find the mysterious "Night Watch". But still, as she saw all of the sad faces wishing her luck in her new home, she felt a small twinge of regret. "Have fun in New York!" called Samantha Hurst, a girl from her French class. Edward had been slightly surprised when she told him that she would be keeping the same name. She explained that since she hadn't killed anyone or anything in Forks, it was probably safe to keep the same identity. "Besides, I want to keep my Slugbug. If I die, it will be hard to explain how some complete stranger who looks like me suddenly gets it. Besides- I'm not goth, not preppy, I got to be a normal person this time. I'm fine with normal. But the Slugbug is the main reason." Edward laughed. "Seriously? You know, I took a look at that engine. It wasn't running very smoothly, you know. I had to replace several parts last night." Amanda had been slightly shocked, but upon reflection, she saw that it was just the sort of thing Edward would do. "Thanks." Amanda packed the last of her books in the U-haul truck, and then she was ready to go. The car did indeed run much more smoothly, Amanda noted sadly. It hurt her to leave such good friends in Forks.

Bella waved from the crowd, appearing to feel almost the same way. She and Amanda had gotten along fairly well, after the initial threat of her killing Edward had passed. Amanda was the only human she knew that she could talk to. Amanda considered something for a moment, then ran out of the car for a moment, scribbling something on a post-it note and pressing it into Bella's hand. "My email." She explained, whispering it into her ear for extra measure. "..." It was the email that only Tom knew. Then Amanda skipped to her car, and after a small wave to the crowd, drove away. "New York, New York, here I come." Amanda muttered under her breath.

A/N: Short chapter, I know, but I've had to deal with a lot of crap lately. But Prey will be much easier to write. I hope no one's guessed too much of the plot. Remember- Author Alert or you don't know when it's coming!


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